Steven Santieri, Lieutenant in the Gotham City Police Department had broken a cardinal rule. He had promised his mother that he would quit smoking. He had done so years ago, and he had quit, just like he had promised. His mother had been happy and slowly the cravings had gone away, except when he had a particularly tough day. But he had started again and she didn’t know. Thankfully, he didn’t live with his mother. He was a grown man who had his own place, thank you very much. Sitting in his living room, with the windows open, Steven took an appreciative drag from his mentholated nicotine. The smoke in the air was cloudy but he could see through it just fine. The television in his room was on and it was on something or other, but he wasn’t paying attention to it, not really. He couldn’t care less about what was on the television. He was just sitting and thinking about what had happened a few months back. Watercrest. It was still on the news from time to time, the fallout from it still up in the air.

There had been a trial, against the largest mafia in Gotham City, the Vitale family. It had involved a number of testimonies and trials, but at the forefront had been one woman, the star witness. Eva Isabel Rodriguez. The now deceased Michael Vitale’s former fiance and the Vitale Family’s record keeper and computer specialist. He had been the one to find her, and he had been the one to bring her to the Gotham City Police Department. From there, he’d eventually had to basically babysit her in the apartment that had been provided by the GCPD and the FBI who had decided to jump in on the trial. Eva and Steven had fallen in love, but in order to protect her, he’d told her that he couldn’t be with her. That had been a mistake, and it was summarizing everything that had happened into one sentence. Steven couldn’t do that. So much had happened between them.

But he’d pushed her away because it had seemed like the smart thing to do.

Now it was five months later. He might have been able to get over her, if he had been able to stop thinking about her. But that had been nearly impossible to do. How do you stop thinking about a woman who had burrowed her way into your life and now that she was gone had left a giant, gaping hole. However, Steven had the means to fix that problem. Having the means didn’t mean that one always had the will though. Rising from his seat, he took another hit of the cigarette and walked over to his bedroom and looked at the folder that was on his desk. Information.

Courtesy of the Batman.

The Batman was back alright, and now they knew for sure. Steven had seen him with his own eyes, he’d talked to him, and the man had been here in his home. He still didn’t know if he could properly trust the Batman, but he knew that he had to work with him for the time being. Batman had resources and skills that the Gotham City Police Department lacked. Money was tight across the board, despite the business that Wayne Enterprises brought to Gotham. Steven was in charge of a precinct and there was talk about putting together a task force to go after more of the mafia and the other organized crime organizations. They owed their most recent success to the Batman and everyone knew it. Steven’s name was in that hat and he wanted it.

He wanted to stamp the existence of Michael Vitale out. That was his goal, and although there was altruism there, the selfishness of it was not lost on Steven. That man had taken a lot from him. Michael Vitale had murdered his father. He had abused both emotionally and physically and raped Eva. He was dead but that wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. Steven reached out and picked up the folder and opened it, looking through it. The information was good, he knew it. But could he go there, could he talk to her? After what he’d done? He had been just as bad as Vitale.

A small smile came to his face as he thought of what his mother had said to him when he’d shown her the folder. His mother, a die hard devout Italian Catholic had honest to God cursed him out. Then she’d given him advice, things that he’d needed to hear. She’d told him to go after her and told him to tell her how he felt. After that, she’d given him something that was in the top drawer of the desk. Taking it, he set it on top of the folder and set about taking a shower and changing. By the time he came back to it, he was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans, and a black button down dress shirt. His leather jacket was next to him as he put on his boots, his eyes on the desk.

He was going to get his woman back.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Eva Rodriguez was doing one of the things that brought calm to her world, she was cooking. She hadn’t started the meal yet, still in the preparation stages. Already her selection of fish was ready and washed. Her next step had been deveining the shrimp and that hadn’t taken her too long. She’d kept the shells for the manioc polenta. A rice cooker was going steady. Now it was time for her to chop up her vegetables. The green and yellow peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes, all were going to get chopped up together for the stew that she was making. Before she started chopping however, she turned to check on the rice. As she did, Eva remembered the times that she’d cooked for Steven when she’d been sequestered in that apartment, and the times that she’d cooked for all of the police officers assigned to protect her from the Vitales.

She remembered everything and she had to put the knife down for a moment. Leaning against one of the countertops in the apartment that she’d managed to get, Eva grabbed the glass of wine that she’d poured herself earlier. Taking a liberal sip, she set the glass down and brought her now free right hand up to cover her face. God, she missed him. Steven had been the man who had come when she’d needed help the most, and the man who had protected her from so much. He’d taken two bullets on two separate occasions in order to keep her safe. Santieri was her white knight and she’d fallen in love with him. Still was in love with him.

While she understood why he’d done what he’d done, Eva had never thought that Steven would have actually done it. Whenever she’d considered him following that course of action, she’d tossed it from her head almost immediately. That just flew in the face of everything that he was, everything that he stood for. He was a man who looked evil and death in the face and kept his ground. In her traditional, stubborn way, she’d done exactly what she’d told him she was going to do, even though she wouldn’t be protected by the police. Granted, she’d stolen the Smith and Wesson Model 5906 that she’d used to kill Melanie Horne five months ago, but that would only protect her so much. She kept the pistol on her all the time, thankfully her apartment was small, so her hiding place in each room was easy to find if you knew where to look.

She tried her best to push the thoughts of her mind. Eva and Steven had connected on an emotional level. They were well suited for each other and she knew it. When she was happy she was able to cheer him up and when he was happy he was able to cheer her up. They complimented each other, and sometimes, it felt as though they were one brain. He had his immature moments and she had her own as well. From something as simple and silly as playing a board game like Monopoly despite her being twenty eight and him thirty two, to tickling each other to death while watching a movie. Simple and silly things. From that to being able to confide in each other. That was what she loved the most about Steven. He was someone that she could tell anything. Her hopes, her dreams. He’d never judged her. He’d even tried to find ways to help her and give her encouragement. The tears welled up in her eyes and she drank some more wine.

There was always the part about the sex that she wouldn’t be able to forget. He was good, like really good. Tears welled up in her eyes from everything that she’d gone through on account of him. “Bastard.” She said, in regards to Steven, but there was no heat behind it, just sorrow. The woman, dressed in a red V-neck short sleeve t-shirt and black yoga pants, knew that she needed to start moving again.

With a curse muttered under her breath, the Brazilian woman surged forward, grabbing her knife and starting to chop the vegetables. She had been about halfway done when there was a knock on her door. Slowing down her motions, she called out.

“Who is it?”

“Bernard.” A man said, with the voice of her super. “There’s a guy here to see you. From the police.”

She sighed. Gotham City Police Department officers had been coming by her apartment from time to time to try to convince her to go for the Witness Protection Program. It was only a few officers, and they were always the same. All of them had, at some point, been a part of the protection detail on her. Furthermore, since she knew who were the crooked cops in Gotham City, she knew that they weren’t trying to screw her over or anything like that. So she heard them out, but she didn’t listen to any of them. Gotham City was her home and she was going to stay here, no matter the danger. That let your enemy win the war. She wasn’t going to give in and she wasn’t going to let the Vitale’s win. Eva was going to live her and life and she was going to keep her head up no matter what happened.

“Let him in.” She called out and resumed chopping. She heard the door open and footsteps. She was still chopping when the man came into view and she had her eyes down, watching what she was doing. “So let’s see, it’s a Tuesday, which means that this has to be Officer Rawlings. I have to say, with my criminal background, I should be a little more wary when opening the door for the police. But I’ve been conditioned now, I guess.”

“Probably is him. Rawlings is also a couple blocks away on his normal patrol. This is Lieutenant Santieri, but I think we’ve met.”

Eva stopped and looked up, her eyes wide. “Ste...Steven?” She said. “What, what are you doing here?” She asked, taking a step back and wiping at the tears that she realized that she could pin on the onions she’d been cutting. That’s exactly why the tears had sprung into her eyes. Onions did that to people.

“We need to talk.” He said. “And I need my pistol back.” After he spoke, he moved, quickly, considering what was thrown at him. The sharp knife embedded itself into the wall. He turned and gave it a look before turning back to her. “Not exactly what I was going for, but I’ll take it. Shall we try my pistol this time? Also, don’t throw it at me. Please.”

“I don’t want to talk to you.” She said and then reached into her set of knives for another one to continue chopping the vegetables with. The feelings were bubbling through her and she wasn’t sure how to get them out. One of the main reasons was the sheer number of different feelings that were moving through her. But above all else was love. Love of him. “You’re foul, detestable, and I want nothing to do with you.” Eva said, her eyes focusing on what was in front of her, chopping faster and faster. Despite her focus being on the vegetables, she was starting to chop wildly and be rather uneven with her movements. She didn’t see the look of relief that poured over Steven’s face.

She was still in love with him. He could tell by her behavior, by her actions, her body language. The shock of it hit him, and rolled through him. He smiled to himself as he felt his knees shake a little bit. It was a humbling thing to experience, as, after all, there had been a very good chance that she would have wanted nothing to do with him anymore. He would have understood that and he would have accepted it. Realistically he would have had no other choice. But this, yelling at him, and throwing things at him, he would take that any day. It meant that she still cared, that it had affected her, that she did love him. Hell of a way to find out. Though, then again, being shot while protecting her, yet again, was a hell of a way to find out too.

“Can we talk?” He asked, taking a step forward.

“I said no.” Eva replied, cutting her vegetables. When he took another step forward, she made her first mistake in a kitchen in what was years. She actually cut herself with her knife. It wasn’t a big cut and it wasn’t deep either. Yanking her hand back, she hissed slightly and then turned towards her sink. Running the water, Eva let the clear liquid wash over the small cut, knowing that that man was using this to his advantage. Her ears granted her the ability to tell that he was walking towards her. “Officer Santieri, I’m going to have to ask you to leave my home.” She said.

“It’s Lieutenant and-”

“I don’t give a damn what it is.” She said, realizing that he was almost right behind her. Flipping the faucet off, she turned and found herself staring at his upper chest. Her eyes flicked up to his and she tried to glare. Her heart was beating so fast. He was here, in her home, finally she could see him again. It took every part of her not to jump forward and grab him into the biggest and tightest hug that she could manage and beg him never to leave her again. But she knew that she couldn’t do that. Not because she didn’t want to, but because that was what the old her would have done. That was what she had done to Michael. Steven was not Michael. She was not beneath him and he didn’t think of her that way. He thought of her as an equal, even if he had made the decision that he’d made without talking to her about it. Though she couldn’t blame him for that.

Had she known what he had been planning on doing she would have stopped him.

Grabbing him and hugging him, that was the old Eva. The weak Eva. Steven had only himself to blame if that was what he was looking for, because he had helped her grow as a person. He had helped teach her to value herself and to know that she was worthy of love and tenderness and care and that she had the right to be a little selfish when it came to life. The man standing before her was thoroughly her white knight. But she was going to be damned if she wasn’t going to play with him before she gave in.

“Ms. Rodriguez, I know you have a firearm in this house that does not belong to you. You have the option of talking to me now, or I can come back with other police officers and a signed warrant and you’ll have to talk to me then.” He said.

“Police are always abusing their powers.” She said, giving him a look. “Fine. I’ll talk to you. But police are pigs, so I don’t know what you want to talk to me about.” She said.

“And if I recall, I’m a man, so that makes me two kind of pigs.” He said and he caught the glimmer in her eyes. She remembered the conversation they’d had way back when. It seemed like ages ago, as though it had been so long. Hard to believe it was about a year ago now. It was time to get to the matter that he had come to speak with her about. “I’d like to talk to you about the events that transpired at the Watercrest Hotel.” He said.

She gave him a look in response and he could see that she was trying to figure out what his angle was. Eva shrugged her shoulders and took on an air of disinterest, even though she was incredibly interested in what he was asking her and why. “I gave a detailed police report on everything that happened, what more is there to talk about? I even shared how the FBI Agent assigned to my case was working for the Vitale Family, and that no one had believed me, not even my police handler as brilliant as he was supposed to be. I didn’t trust her and I was right. She was a bitch.”

“Yes, Melanie Horne was a bitch.” Steven said.

“And you slept with her.”

He sighed.

“Moving onwards, though you know what? You only didn’t like her because she liked me.” Steven said, earning an eyebrow raise from the love of his life. “You were jealous, that’s why you didn’t like her.”

She gave an audible gasp. “You take that back, Steven Santieri.”

“That’s Lieutenant, remember that.” He said and she kicked him in the shin. He smiled. “Now, what I would like to talk to you about is something that you said to a Lieutenant Steven Santieri, of the Gotham City Police Department, after SWAT came in and after you repeatedly shot and killed the aforementioned traitorous bitch. The report from Officer Irskens, states that you told Lieutenant Santieri that you loved him. Is that true?”

“Yes, I told him that.” She said, sticking her jaw up and putting her hands on her hips. The woman dared him to make something of it. She dared him to. “What of it?” She asked.

“Did you mean it?” He asked.

Eva looked at him, a range of emotions rushing through her at the question that he asked. His face was impassive, and hard to read. They had always been so good at reading each other but now it was so difficult. She was finding it hard to breath and she looked at him, unsure of what to say. “It was a heat of the moment thing.” The Brazilian woman said, finally, all thoughts of playing with him first gone. He’d brought back the memories and the feelings and they’d come back with a vengeance.

“I understand.” Steven said, deflating. He couldn’t believe that he had been wrong earlier. He’d thought that she’d still loved him, but she’d said it herself, that it had been a heat of the moment thing. She hadn’t meant it. That was enough to seal the coffin. He’d lost her and she was gone from him. He’d had his chance and he’d blown it. There wasn’t going to be a second chance. Feeling life suck away from him, he knew that he had to leave the room, the apartment, the area. The pain that was welling up inside of him was something that he didn’t want anyone else to see. Flashes of images ripped through his mind, a life without her, the life that he had to live now.

It sucked.

The life that he had wanted with her, that he had stayed awake some nights thinking of, it was gone, dead to the world.

“Right, well, I’ll leave you alone then.” Steven said, turning and starting to walk away. He paused as he exited the kitchen part of the one room kitchen and dining room. “Turn the weapon in at the precinct, and there won’t be any problems, Ms. Rodriguez.” He said and started walking again. He’d almost reached the door when he heard her voice, just above a whisper.

“Of course I meant it, you idiot.” She said, no heat in the last word.

He turned.

Their eyes met.

“I hate you for it, but of course I meant it.” Eva said, and he saw the tears in her eyes. Swallowing the lump that had built up in his throat, Steven walked over to her. She had her left hand wrapped over her stomach, with her right elbow resting on the hand. Her right hand was up at her mouth. “I can’t believe you, what you did.” She said. “How could you?” Eva asked him.

“I thought that it was what was best for the both of us, I wanted you to be safe. You’re safety, that’s more important to me than anything. On top of that, it was technically my job, you know.” Steven said. “I’m so sorry.” He said.

So this was what someone being truly apologetic to you felt. Eva smiled as the tears threatened to spill over. It was a beautiful feeling, even if she’d had to go through the pain to get to this spot in time. She could see it in his eyes, and subconsciously in his body language. Eva could hear it in his voice. Before she forgot, she made sure that nothing in her kitchen was on and then she leaned against the counter.

“I’m not asking for your to forgive me, and I know you probably don’t feel about me the same way that you did before. I’m asking for a second chance, Eva.” He said.

“Steven, I feel the same way I felt about you before. Of course I love you, of course I forgive you. I love you more than I’ve loved any other person I’ve ever known.” She said. “You changed my life, because you taught me to value myself, and you showed me that I was someone who deserved a better life, after...after what Michael...” She said and tried very hard not to break down.

“I’ve been very stupid, haven’t I?” He asked.

“Yes, yes you have, you ass.” She said, starting to laugh. “Even if you hadn’t come tonight, if you’d never come, I would still love you, without reservation. You’re my heart.” Eva said. She nearly yelped then, pulled into a tight hug.

There was still something that she’d never heard and something that he’d never said to her. That needed to be rectified and it was going to be. He took a step back and reached into his pocket. He didn't know if this was going too far too fast, but at this point he really didn't care. It was better to just take the risk and see what happened. “This, this isn’t how I imagined doing this. Not in a kitchen, in an apartment. It was somewhere else, somewhere magical, somewhere awesome.” Steven said. He lowered himself to one knee, producing a small jeweler’s box. He watched her eyes widen as he snapped it open. “My mother gave this to me, it’s a family heirloom. She berated me and yelled at me and told me to get you back. Someone else kind of did that too, but I can explain that part later. I’m rambling, I’m sorry. I figured, if you were to wear this, well, I mean, it’d be awesome.” He said with a little laugh, his nervousness coming through.

“Are you...”

“Eva Isabel Rodriguez, there is no woman on this earth that I care about more than you. I love you and I would very much like you to be my wife. I want to play lots and lots of games of Monopoly and Scrabble and Clue with you, despite the fact that you cheat. I want to argue with you about movies and tv shows. I want to dance with you to cheesy songs on the radio and to classics from Sinatra. I want to have kids with you and grow old with you and have you annoy me incessantly.” He said. “Because I love you. I can’t promise to always be the best husband or the best person, but I can promise you that I will always try. Because you deserve nothing but the best, and that’s all I want to give you. So will you marry me?”

“Yes. Oh God, yes I will.” Eva said and he slid the ring onto her finger.

She looked down and took the ring in. It had three main stones, all of whom were square cut. The lead one was easily three carats and the ones on the side were at least one carat each. The band itself was a white gold that had smaller diamonds going down the side But what made the ring so beautiful was the intricate level of engraving and detailing on the sides. There was filigree work and it just had a feeling of old world and rich history. When Michael had proposed, he’d gotten her an ultra modern, six carat platinum ring. It had been pretty, but in a cold and distant sort of way. She had hated the ring, but she’d been grateful and happy with it, if he was happy with it. But this, this was perfect. It felt like the one thing that she’d always wanted when it came to marriage. A sense of belonging, a sense of family. Steven was her family.

“I love it.” She said, looking up at the man who’d risen up off the floor. “I love it.” She repeated. “I love you.” Eva said.

“I love you too.” Steven replied. “Though I know you’re just saying yes, because engaged to me, that gives you some legal standing to keeping my pistol.” He said, matter of factly.

“Shut up.” She said, calling him an idiot it Portuguese. He laughed in response. “Aren’t you going to kiss me?” Eva asked, a little breathless.

“Been waiting five months to.” The man said, and grabbed her, pulling her in close.

And then they kissed. And it was perfect. She was engaged to be married once more and the hand with the ring on it was buried deep in his hair, pulling him in. After five, long months, she had him back. She was not going to let him go for a while. Feeling his hands slid up her back was great and she laughed against his lips as he reached up and pulled her hair out of the hair tie set up that she’d had going on. Steven had always liked her hair down. Her eyes finally opened and she looked into his. “I’m keeping that pistol, Sheriff.” She said and he smiled as she used her nickname for him for the first time.

“Figured as much. Course there is the matter of you stealing it from me.” He said.

“I stole nothing, my dear. Besides you should be grateful that I brought it with me. That woman would have killed the both of us. She was such a...” Eva said and drifted off.

“Bitch. Yes, Melanie Horne was a bitch. I conceded that far more than five months ago.” He said.

Damn right she was, Eva thought as she kissed her fiance. Woman tried to take her man from her. “So stealing. You gonna arrest me?” She asked.

“First thing in the morning.” He said, remembering a night long ago. He’d come into the GCPD headquarters building tired and she’d found him in his office about to go to sleep at his desk. He hadn’t slept in a few days, catching maybe seven hours in a seventy two hour timeframe. Eva had given him the best back massage ever.

“What’s the maximum, Sheriff, a hundred years?” She asked, grinning.

“Oh, I’ll find an unsympathetic judge, woman.”

“Oh my.” She replied, playing her part to the letter. Eva remembered it too but for more reasons than he did. It had been one of the first attempts of hers to flirt with him, and it had been after she had clearly set up territory rights and Horne had started to poach. But more important than that, after the back massage, to relax him and get his mind off of things, she had asked him to talk about his family. Envy, she could remember it coursing through her when he’d spoken, because he spoke of his family with love and tenderness. They supported each other and took care of each other and that was what she wanted in life.

“You should be scared.” Steven said. “I know some police on the take. Would you be interested in some of my cooking?” She asked, lifting an eyebrow. “I remember someone deeply enjoying my food.” Eva added as she heard his stomach growl.

“We can eat later.” He said.

“Later? That assumes we’re going to do something now.” She said, with a twinkle in her eye. “You want to lose in Scrabble, don’t you.” Eva said, smiling as he scooped her up in his arms. He started out of the kitchen, intent on finding her bedroom. “No, I know, you want to get beaten in Monopoly. Maybe watch some police show that’s inaccurate because they don’t show you scarfing down donuts?” She asked.

Confident that Eva could hit him for cursing if he did it in his mind, he completed the stretch with another mental expletive and then his head hit the soft pillows once more. He sighed thankful that Eva hadn’t skimped on thread count. Since it was the first time that he’d had sex in months, he’d known that he was going to be out for a while after it, and with a comfortable bed, he felt better than he’d felt in a while. She’d spent the money that the City of Gotham had given her in compensation for her testimony well. He brought a hand up and ran it lightly over his face. He was still tired though. Thinking about rolling out of bed to get something to drink, he was stopped when a rather pretty head with long, long locks of black hair placed itself on his shoulder. A small, soft hand slid up his chest to rest on his other shoulder and then the rest of the body snuggled in.

“Hi.” He said, angling his head to peer down at the top of her head.

“Hi.” Eva said, sleepy, her eyes still closed. “You’re still here.” She said after a moment or two of more silence in between the two of them.

“Yeah. Where was I supposed to go?” He asked, a little confused at what she said, and she shook her head, burying her face into his shoulder for a moment before she set it back to where it had been before.

“Nope.” She said. “Only my Steven ones. Strangely enough you also do propose to me in all of them. Though there’s varying degrees of begging and pleading in each. One involved crawling.” Eva added with a yawn. “What time do you have to report in today?”

“I have today and tomorrow off.” He replied, pulling the covers up more. “All I have to do is swing by my mother’s place, though I figured you could join me. She’s been asking about you and, you know, ever since she gave me that ring, it’s been incessant.”

“If I find out you proposed just to shut your mother up...” She said and trailed off.

Steven laughed. “I would never. You’re far too annoying to put up with for just that reason. Though...you do make good pancakes.”

“Yes, I do. No, you’re not getting any.” She said, adjusting as he slid his left arm out so he could put it around her and she could get in closer. His fingers moved in a very loose circle over the small of her back.

“Eva.” He said, and she lifted her head, making eye contact with him. “I love you.” He said and she gave him a big smile. “Took a long time for you to hear it, and I want you to hear it more often. I love you.” He said.

“I love you too.” She said and leaned in, kissing him. Settling her head back down on his shoulder she closed her eyes. “But I’m still not making pancakes.”

Eva was up and about, running a brush through her hair as she walked. Steven was changing as well. He’d been given a mighty look of something when he’d walked into the house with a backpack that had a change of clothes in it. He’d shrugged and told her that he’d erred on the side of caution in this situation. She’d rolled her eyes and given him a hmmph and then she’d gone for her shower. Now she was brushing her hair as she walked, heading into the room that was both kitchen, living room, and dining area. Steven was sitting down, on his phone. She walked over to him. “I’ll be ready in a few minutes.” Eva said and when he looked up, he gave her a smile.

He’s my fiance now. My fiance. She thought, and there was a wave of giddiness that shot through her. He was finally hers. After everything that they’d gone through, she was finally going to marry her white knight, the man who’d saved her and helped her save herself. It was still hard to believe. Eva brought the brush down and then bent, kissing him, deeply.

“Wow. What was that for?” He asked.

“Because I love you.” She said simply.

“I love you too. Let’s get going.” Steven said and rose.

The drive to his mother’s didn’t take long. Eva was excited. Because Carla Santieri was a wonderful woman, full of warmth, full of life and light. She had been a great friend to Eva during the trial, and Eva genuinely liked the woman. She thought his mother liked her, and she was hoping that this wouldn’t change much now that Eva and Steven were going to be married. There was that word again. Married. It was new to her, despite the fact that she’d been engaged to Michael Vitale for years. Maybe because it felt right, it felt real with Steven. Either way, she was nervous when she got out of the car, apprehensive as she walked up the steps to the house. Steven opened the door and stepped inside.

“Mom?” He called out.

“In the kitchen. Steven, did you come back with Eva?” His mother called out. “Did she say yes? I hope she said yes. You didn’t even ask her, did you. No courage, I swear to you, not like your father.” Carla Santieri said.

Eva fought back the grin.

“My mother for you.” Steven said with a sigh.

“It’s okay.” Eva said and then raised her voice as she walked through the house that she’d only stepped foot once in, but had felt more at home in than her own apartment with Michael back in the day. “Yes, Mrs. Santieri, he did ask me.”

“Did you say yes? I hope you said yes, the boy needs a wife like you.” Carla asked, as they entered the corner, a hopeful smile on her face. She laughed and there was a twinkle in her eye when Eva held up her hand, adorned with the heirloom ring. “Oh, it’s a fit. That’s wonderful. Sit, sit. I’ll make coffee. I want to hear everything. I hope you made him beg. He was a bad boy, I told him. I told him.” Carla said.

The two sat down, one smiling from ear to ear, the other resigning himself to his fate.

Carla Santieri was a practical woman. Well grounded in her Italian culture and staunch in her Roman Catholic faith, she was also very practical. She had been the rock of her family both for her husband, Giovanni Santieri, when he had been alive and for her son, Steven. Carla had been the one who had helped both men through all of the trying things in their lives. She knew the kind of person that her son needed to have when he looked for someone to spend the rest of his life with. While she understood the things that Eva had done in the past, Carla also understood the need for forgiveness and the need to not judge. The woman who wore their family heirloom ring now had been through much in her life. She had seen a great deal of things and had experienced a great deal of pain. Carla couldn’t think of a better woman to be hand in hand with her son and to marry him. They were well paired and she could see it in their eyes when they looked at each other.

Love.

A deep love, a powerful bond.

They had been sitting in the kitchen, but she rose, as the two of them mock argued about the wedding and stepped away for a moment. Standing in the hallway, she looked down at a table that they had against one of the walls. Carla Santieri sighed, picking up a picture of her husband. She turned when she heard a noise and saw that Steven was in the hallway, leaning against the wall. “What’s wrong?” He asked, concern in his voice.

“Nothing, it’s nothing, Steven.” She said. When it was obvious that he knew that something was wrong and that he wasn’t going to give up that easily, she shrugged, giving him a wan smile. “I just miss your father. He would have been so proud of you and so happy right now.” Carla said. “Look at you. You’re a grown man. You were in the Army, you’re a lieutenant in the police department now. You’ve found a beautiful woman who’s a great match for you. It’s everything he wanted for you, Stefano. Maybe not the police officer part, but he wanted your happiness.” Carla said. Tears had slowly sprang into her eyes. “I just...I miss him so.” She said, looking down at the picture in her hands.

Steven stepped forward, pulling the woman into a hug. “I know, Mom. I miss him too.” He said.

Eva was standing in the doorway, watching quietly. Steven looked over his shoulder and the two caught each other’s eyes. She could feel the energy in the room and she didn’t want to disturb the two of them. But Steven gave her a smile and reached out, taking her and pulling her in. Carla laughed as Eva joined the hug and then stepped back. “What am I doing?” She asked. “Come, this is to be a happy time. I’m making us much too sad.” She said. “Come, I want to talk to you about the Police Officer’s Ball anyway. You never go, and now you have a beautiful fiance to go with you.”

Steven made a fake groaning sound as he walked back into the kitchen with Eva. “I really don’t like going to that.” “What is it?” Eva asked.

“It’s a charity dinner that benefits Gotham City Police Department.” He said. “Police are always invited, but a lot of us rarely go. Most of us don’t like the whole rubbing elbows thing.” He said. “I mean, I like what the event does, don’t get me wrong, I just don’t like the event itself.” He said.

“I think you should go.” Carla said. “It’s a shame. Your father went every year.”

“Dad also set the kitchen on fire trying to make risotto one time.” Steven said. “I can do that too.”

“Eva, talk to this stubborn boy, I’ve had enough of him. For thirty two years, nothing but stubbornness. Even when he was a baby, stubborn, stubborn. He’s like a mule.” Carla said, throwing her hands up. “You can make him go.”

“She can’t make me...” Steven said, but then he saw the raised brow look on Eva’s face. He marshaled his thoughts and then spoke. It was obvious. “Fine, I’ll go.”

He rearranged the tie that he wore and mentally cursed. Damn woman was going to be the death of him. Steven leaned against the wall and lifted his beer to his lips. Taking a sip, he lowered the glass and looked around the room. They were in a big gala sized hall. The Gotham City Police Department had sponsored this event and here he was, because he’d been asked, politely of course, by his fiance. He was rather upset with himself for giving in so easily, but he liked keeping Eva happy. The lieutenant had had the opportunity to hob nob with some of the big wigs of the police department, but that wasn’t what he was here for. His eyes took everything in. People were having a good time, and he couldn’t blame them. But there were people out in the cold right now who needed a lot of these officers to be doing their jobs on the streets of the City. At the same time, he could understand people needing to look to further their career. The Italian didn’t particularly care about his career, as long as he was doing a good job and upholding the honor of the badge.

There had been two good things to come out of this though. The first was that he had gotten more information about the Major Crimes Unit that was being revamped. He’d talked to one of the captains and that man had said that he’d seen Steven’s name come up in the talks of who would lead the unit. Steven was in charge of a precinct at the moment and while he felt a deep connection to his precinct, he knew that his skills could be better served elsewhere. If he got the spot, he got the spot, but he wasn’t going to politic or campaign for it. Gotham City needed a revamp to the MCU and he hoped that whoever got the job was going to be up to the task. To say that it was going to be difficult was a gross understatement. The new Batman may have started to get the City on track, and the trial against the Vitale’s had effectively shut down one of the biggest groups of organized crime in the City, but there was still an immense amount of work to be done. It was one of the things that had made Steven realize that this partnership that Batman was forcing on him was rather necessary.

Despite the place that he was in, it was not time to think of work. At least, that was what he’d been told, even though it seemed a lot of people were tripping over themselves to talk about work here. Learning what he’d learned was one of the two good things that had come about because of this night. Out of the two good things that had come out of coming to this event though, that had definitely been the lesser of the two.

My God, Eva looked amazing in that dress. It was a black dress that was made out of some silky, satiny material whose name escaped him. Where she’d gotten it from, he didn’t know, but he figured that it had something to do with when she’d been with the Vitale family. It was fairly backless, but not too much, and also had a deep cowl neck. He was fairly certain that she hadn’t worn a bra, though having seen her naked, she didn’t really need to. It was also how he was fairly certain that she hadn’t. Stopping just beyond her knees, the dress had been pared with a set of black high heels that put her closer to his height. Her hair, the hair that he loved to run his fingers through had been freed for the night, down and about. She’d spent some time with the straightener, and he liked the results. A silver bracelet was around her wrist. A matching necklace was around her neck, with a simple diamond solitaire setting. Two small diamond studs were in her ears and from time to time, she turned and caught his eye.

It wasn’t a suggestive dress though, that was the beauty of it. Still conservative, it fit in with what the other women wore, but it helped showcase her and it made her stand out. Men and women had been watching her. He’d known that Eva was beautiful and hot. He’d always known, shortly after he’d met her. From a purely male perspective, Steven was quite sure that he was already beyond the point where he was willing to convince her to head home right then and there. He’d been thinking about that for a good chunk of the drive over to the gala event in the first place. She had dressed like this on purpose and he knew it. She could have worn something that was suited for this event but hadn’t made his blood race, but that woman knew exactly how to turn him on. The coldness of the beer was doing nothing for him, and he saw the mischievous twinkle in her eyes when she looked at him. He’d already made a mental note that if this was how she was going to dress to future occasions, then he’d have to start coming to these events more often. It was a great way to convince someone who had no interest in politicking to do so. He took another swig of the beer as his friend, Irskens, came up to him.

“She looks great.” He said.

“You’ve got a wife. Eyes off my girl.” Steven said and Irksens laughed. The two of them turned as a newcomer walked towards them. Both men’s eyes widened a bit. “Mr. Muir, I didn’t know you came to this.” Steven said.

“The Wayne Foundation is one of the biggest donors, so I get an invite every year. Also, I got a new car. I wanted to drive it. This seemed as good of a place as any.” Isaiah Muir, one of the richest men in the world, said with a shameless smile as he finished walking over to them. “Please, call me Isaiah.” He said.

Irskens was about to speak, when he saw his wife catching his attention to wave him over. He sighed. “Guess I’ve got to run. Cindy wants to tell me something.” He said.

“That’s why I’m never getting married. I don’t like it when other people, particularly women, try to tell me what to do.” Isaiah said with a smirk after Irskens left. “But I’ve heard you’re getting ready to take the plunge.” He added, turning to Steven.

“You could say that.” The other man said with a small nod. The two shared simple smiles, smiles of men who were making small talk and would have rather been somewhere else entirely. Isaiah was just better at hiding it than Steven was, he had years of practice now. Also, he had far better reasons to cover up his dislike of being here than Steven did.

“Interesting choice. She’s quite a looker.” Isaiah said, lifting his glass of what appeared to be champagne up for a salute.

“Same thing I said to Irskens applies to you, billionaire status non withstanding. I’ll get in a fight with you, don’t think I won’t.” Steven said. “Eyes off my girl.” He said.

“Oh, I think you’d be able to take me easily.” Isaiah said with a funny look on his face. “I don’t go after the married or the engaged to be married, Lieutenant, but it is kind of hard to keep my eyes off of her. Not because she’s beautiful, but it’s just interesting to see Michael Vitale’s former fiance in a room full of cops. You know every single cop in here who was ever on the take is going to be doing you favors left, right, all over the place. But I’m sure you already knew that, didn’t you?” He asked.

“What are you getting at?” Steven asked, his eyes narrowing. “I’m not marrying her because I want to abuse her past.”

“I’m not saying that you are marrying her for that reason. I don’t doubt that you love her, deeply. After what the two of you went through together, I could understand that. I just hope that you’re willing to acknowledge that past, and use it to your benefit.” Isaiah said. “You stand at an interesting crossroads, Lieutenant. You’re a hero to the people of Gotham and you could effect a great amount of change and good work.” He said. “But let’s talk of less serious things. I doubt your fiance wants to hear us discuss that.” Isaiah said, making an indicating motion with his head.

Steven turned to see Eva walking towards them, a smile on her face. What was Muir getting at? He had realized that a lot of the cops who had been on the take would try to ingratiate themselves with him, especially if he got the position as the head of Major Crimes. But what Isaiah was getting at was something else entirely. He was suggesting that Steven use those cops to clean up the streets. He wasn’t suggesting that Steven corrupt himself, but that he make use of what he had available to him. It was a tempting suggestion, one that he would have to deeply consider. The man had a point, he had to give him that. Of course that was to be expected. Isaiah and his father had taken Wayne Enterprises and all of the other companies part of the Muir/Nevins trust and had turned them all around, pulling Gotham out of the biggest economic depression since the nineteen thirties. Isaiah Muir often acted like a billionaire womanizer, but the truth was quite different. He was a shark in the water, a true capitalist businessman.

Santieri lifted a hand that slid comfortably over smooth fabric as his fiance came next to him. She leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “So I think I convinced one of your bosses that you’re simply amazing.” Eva said. She turned and gave Isaiah a smile. “Isaiah, it’s been a while.” She said.

“You two know each other?” Steven asked, lifting an eyebrow.

“Eva’s been to a few of my parties, back when she was with her previous fiance.” Isaiah said. “May he burn in hell.” He added with a smile to Eva. “I’ve known you for a while, just as an acquaintance, but I’ve never seen you as happy as I do right now.” He said.

“Well, I have Steven to thank for that.” Eva said, looking at the man she loved. “Someone told me that you were looking for me, though Isaiah. Something about computer problems?” She asked with a bemused smile.

“Anyone who’s hacked into the Pentagon, S.H.I.E.L.D., and Vanguard, not to mention a whole litany of other databases is someone that I’m interested in.” Isaiah said. “Though, I would like to hear what you did when you hacked into the Gotham City Police Department.” He added.

“All of those things I did allegedly.” Eva said and then pointed at Steven when he gave her an amused frown. “Allegedly. You can’t prove a thing, Sheriff.” She added, poking him lightly in the chest. Her face shifted as she looked back at Isaiah. “What, are you offering me a job?” She asked, jokingly.

“Yeah.” Isaiah said.

She and Steven stared.

“Makes sense.” He said. “I’ve been reading about you and the things you did for the Vitale family. You’re one of the best persons on the planet, basically, in computer science. You just never had a chance at life, no offense. You could probably give Alex Burke a run for his money. I’d be a fool if I didn’t at least dangle an offer in front of you.” He said.

“You’re serious.” Eva said, blinking a few times.

“Yep.” Isaiah said and then lifted a hand. “Don’t worry, Lieutenant, I really am not trying to steal your fiance, and I will, what was it you said, ‘keep my eyes off your girl,’ if she says yes.” Isaiah said and Eva mentally filed that one away for later use. There was a good reason why she wore this dress.

“There is at least one thing that I can think of that I would need to know-”

“What you’ll be paid.” Isaiah said, cutting her off. “Well that’s the benefit of owning the whole damn thing, and being chairman of the board.” He said and thought. “What seems fair...” He said, trailing off and then he shrugged. “How about three hundred and fifty thousand a year? That’s normal right? Sure.” He said.

Steven blinked. That was more than three times what he made. Most definitely Steven was not the kind of man who cared whether or not he made more money than his wife. But that was a substantial sum of money. Eva’s mouth was open a little bit. “You’re sure?” She asked after a moment and when Isaiah nodded, she nodded slowly. “Well, I guess the other problems will work themselves out.” She said. “I’ll accept the job offer.” The Brazilian woman said.

“It was.” Steven said with a smile. The door to the bathroom was open and he could look in and see her. He sat on the edge of the bed in her bedroom. “Not saying that I’m particularly interested in going next year.I still say that it’s nothing more than a bunch of kiss asses and people who just like to wear the uniform but not do anything. Food was nice.” Steven said and looked up at her as she looked at him through the mirror. “I’ve had better though.” He added as she turned and leaned against the counter and gave him a look. “What?” He asked innocently.

“Now who’s being a kiss ass?” Eva asked sweetly.

“Not me. I’m stating fact, my dear.” He said. He watched as she bent over and undid the straps of her heels and then stepped out of them. She walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom proper.

“I was wondering something though.” She asked, stopping in front of him. He looked up at her to see that she was standing close to him, pretending to pay deep attention to her fingernails. “What, you know, did Isaiah mean when he said that he wasn’t trying to steal your fiance and that he would keep eyes off me?” She asked innocently. The woman looked at him over the work that she was putting in on her fingers.

“Exactly what it sounded like.” Steven replied, reaching out and giving her a wry smile as he placed his right hand on her calf. “Mine.”

“Are you that much of a neanderthal?” When he shrugged and grinned, Eva rolled her eyes. Right where she wanted him.

“Not mine?” He asked.

“Of course, yours.”

“There were a lot of guys watching you.”

“Oh? I didn’t notice.” She said, giving him a toothy grin.

“Liar.” He said, his hand up at the back of her knee. He popped it forward, causing her to move towards him. Her hands landed on his shoulders out of reflex. She settled then, moving so that she was sitting in his lap, straddling him. The dress was flexible enough to work with her. “You noticed.”

“So what if I did?” She asked. “Besides, it made sure that you were happy, since you were being all grumpy about going. And you got to be all macho and manly and bragful and boastful. Really, Sheriff, you should be thanking me.”

She didn’t get a chance to say anything else, as he reached up and pulled her down for a long kiss. Her hair, which had been down cascaded around them. “Thank you.” He said with a smile, their lips barely apart. “It was nice, in it’s own way. But I don’t think you can wear this dress in public anymore. You look too good in it. I’m not a jealous guy, especially when I know you’re coming home with me at the end of the night, but there’s something to be said for torture.” “Why was it torture?” She asked, knowing that they both knew that she already knew the answer. “Please, be specific so that I know what exactly not to do in the future.”

Steven laced up his sneakers and then groaned as he rose. The smell of coffee wafted through the apartment. When he came home tonight, he and Eva were going to discuss living arrangements. They each had an apartment and that was something that didn't make much sense financially. She had to head in to Wayne Enterprises that day to meet with Isaiah Muir and to figure out just what the hell her job description was. The smell of coffee made him turn. Eva walked towards him, holding a thermos. She was wearing the same purple silk with white trim cami and shorts set that she had worn to bed the night prior. Handing him the thermos, she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Go catch the bad guys, Sheriff." she said with a grin. She adjusted as he slid an arm around her waist and pulled her in for a longer kiss. "Yes, I'll miss you too.". She added, sharing his smirk. He kissed her again and she laughed after it. "Yes, I'll make sure Isaiah Muir keeps his hands to himself."

"That's my girl." Steven said, before letting her go. Thermos in hand, he headed out of the apartment and got into his car. The trip from her place to the precinct wouldn't be that bad. But he still liked his apartment better. There would be bound to be some kind of argument about it. Or at least discussion. Maybe. Maybe she wasn't that attached to the place that she was at now. She'd only been there for a few months. Either way, they had to find a solution to the situation that they were in.

Driving down the road, Steven let the radio play as he cruised. He was on schedule to be early and that was how he liked it. Is father had had all of the clocks in the house be a half hour fast. That way you were always early to wherever you needed to be and you could avoid traffic and things that would slow you down. His father had always been a firm believer in Murphy's Law. His mother hadn't minded it, at least not too much. From that an the Army, Steven maintained a high sense of organizational efficiency. His precinct was the best in the City when it came to that. Making a turn, he continued his drive sipping at his coffee.

He had to admit that the City was starting to get better. As he looked around, he knew that this resurgence was intimately tied to the return of Batman. He still didn't know how well he could trust the man, but he had to take that chance. The truth was that with the inadvertent help that they'd received from the Batman when it came to the Vitale Family, the police had started to really crack down. There was talk of actual reform at Internal Affairs. The was a new lawyer, well not really new but just listened to now, that was being a real hound after those who Eva had listed. Steven just hoped that the man didn't go overboard. Every cop knew that you needed some dishonest members to keep everything going the way that it needed to. His own precinct had a couple. They were monitored and it was insured that their illicit activities didn't get too out of hand. Still, they were a great source of information and a great way for the police to conduct sting operations.

Everything had its purpose.

His fingers moved on the wheel as he completed his drive, pulling into the parking lot of his precinct building. Sometime soon, they were supposed to find out who was going to be in charge of the new MCU. Hopefully that damn hob nobbing, as much as he’d hated it, had worked in his favor.

Eva didn’t know what to expect. She was standing in the lobby of the Wayne Enterprises tower, by far the tallest building in Gotham City. Nervous was a word that she would have used to describe her current mental state. Nervous and anxious. Fiddling with the buttons on her black jacket, she looked around once more. This was different. It was a change from what she was used to. Working for corporate America, a company with the track record, power and prestige as Wayne Enterprises? That was quite a coup and she knew it. There was confidence in her skills, but nerves in her past. Isaiah Muir was putting a good bit of trust in her. She had a past. She’d worked for the Mafia after all, and just as she’d said at that charity dinner not too long ago, there were allegations that she had been able to hack in to any computer database known to man and that she’d done it. Granted, she was good enough that there had been no concrete traces that tied it all back to her, but one was never sure.

The last thing she wanted now that she was turning over a new leaf was for that to come and haunt her. So when she turned around and saw a beautiful blonde woman coming towards her, a smile on her face, her first thought was to bolt and run. Find Steven. But then she swallowed that ball of fear, pushing it deep into a pit of worry. Putting on her best disarming smile, which she hoped was effective, she squared her shoulders, preparing herself for the worst.

“Eva Rodriguez?” The woman asked.

“That’s me.” It wouldn’t be Rodriguez for long, she thought, the thrill running through her as the unconscious reminder that she was engaged to be married raced through her system. Soon it would be Eva Santieri. Assuming this wasn’t some kind of set up. The FBI probably still had to be pissed that she’d helped prove that one of their best agents had been a mole working for organized crime, and that she’d taken the person down. At the end of the day, it had been Eva who had killed Melanie Horne, despite it being in self defense. Not that she'd ever apologize for it. Horne had not only tried to kill her but she'd tried to take her Steven from her. Definitely wasn't going to apologize for it.

“My name is Britney Harmon.” The woman said. “I’m the CEO of Wayne Enterprises.”

Even better. “Oh. I didn’t know that I was going to be meeting with you today.” Eva said. “I’d have...Well, I’m not sure what I would have done differently, but I would have done something differently.”

The other woman smiled. “Don’t worry about it, you’re fine. You’ve already got the job. Isaiah basically said you were hired and that there was nothing I can do about it. And since he controls well over the majority percent of the company, there’s not much I can do about it.”

Did that mean that Harmon wasn’t happy with Isaiah’s choice? With her?

“Is Mr. Muir going to be here today?” She asked.

“Yes, actually.” Britney said, and turned to start walking. “He’s been singing your praises for quite a while and after looking over what information we have, I have to agree with him.” She said, as they entered an elevator. Instead of going up, they started their journey by going down.

“Mr. Muir didn’t really tell me what it was that he was hiring me for.” Eva said after a moment. “Honestly, he didn’t tell me much of anything.”

“He does that.” Britney said as the doors to the elevator opened. They walked out of the elevator into a room filled with computers and servers. Eva recognized the power of the room and what could be done with them. Then she saw the man standing in the center of it, at one particular computer terminal. Isaiah Muir, the most powerful man in Gotham City, and one of the most powerful around the world. As usually happened when people entered a room that he was in, everything else faded into insignificance. He looked at them as they walked towards him, and he leaned against the console, non chalant.

“Good morning, ladies.” Isaiah said. “Eva, glad you could join us.” He said. Gesturing to the room around him, his smile widened a bit. “Like it? It’s a little something that we’ve been working on. This is going to be the cornerstone of the revamped computer sciences division. You’re going to be an influential member of that division, so I’m hoping that you’re ready for the big time. That’s what this is going to be.”

“I’m hoping that too.” Eva said with a smile. “It is rather impressive.” She added after a quick look around. “What exactly are we doing in this division?”

“Hacking.” Isaiah said. He saw the look on her face. “Nothing illegal, technically. You’re going to be hacking into a number of different government databases, both in the United States and around the world. Interpol, S.H.I.E.L.D., Vanguard, all of them. Everything and anything you can think off. I have the contracts in place, and they know what’s happening. We’re providing security by showing the backdoors and finding ways to fix them. Furthermore, you’re going to be utilizing that knowledge to program computer systems that can be sold on the regular market that have all those algorithms and defenses in place.” He walked over to another console and looked down at it. “We’re building computer defense.” Isaiah said and then looked at her. “Think that that’s something you can do?”

“It’s incredible. The computer systems I’m messing around with are worth thousands of dollars, Steven. I can’t believe it.” Eva said, leaning back in her chair. She watched as her fiance lifted his fork and took a bite of the food. She’d come home and had cooked, despite being tired. It was what she loved to do and meal had been quick and easy to make for someone like her.

“That sounds great. It’s an interesting switch, considering you’re trying to protect the systems that you used to hack.” Steven said, scooping up more of the green beans. She’d toasted almonds and mixed them with the green beans, along with olive oil and shallots. The mix was great and he closed his eyes as he chewed, savoring the taste. The chicken had been amazing too, but he’d finished that already. “Allegedly.” He added when he opened his eyes and saw that she was pointing her fork at him, a smirk on her face. She knew that he wasn’t trying to be insulting with what he said. “I think that this is a great move for you, Eva.” Steven said, rising, his plate empty. He gestured to her and she nodded as walked over. Taking her plate, he carried them into the kitchen. “You look happy, which is all I care about.” He said, putting the plates into the sink.

Starting the water, he turned to see her entering the kitchen as well, their two glasses of wine in hand. She set his on the counter near him and took a sip from her own. “You didn’t tell me how your day went.” Eva said. “You just let me ramble the entire time.”

“Well it was your first day of work, I figured that a lot of exciting things happened.” Steven said, grabbing the sponge and getting to work on the dishes.

“So, how was it?” She asked.

“Cut and dry for the most part. We’re having a bit of a situation with one of the homicide investigations that we’ve got going on.” Steven said. “We’ve got a perp with motive, and we’re waiting on DNA testing to come back with evidence that we found at the scene. If this is the guy, then he took a lamp to the side of the deceased’s head. Caved it in quite nicely, actually.”

“Ouch. Sounds kind of gory.” She said in reply, leaning against a counter. “So...how much did you smoke today?” She asked.

“I hate you.” He replied, putting the now washed dishes in the tray for them to dry.

“No you don’t. You love me.”

“I’ll get over it.” Steven replied and turned to look at her, flicking his hands out so that water droplets hit her. She gave him a look of being affronted and he smiled in response. “So I was thinking, since it’s fairly early in the evening, that we watch a movie or something. Maybe a nice game of Monopoly.” He said with an offhanded shrug.

“I’ll get the game board.” Eva said, turning and heading out of the kitchen. “I call the battleship.” She said over her shoulder.

It wasn’t often that Steven suffered from an inability to sleep. Usually he was able to get himself to sleep quite easily. He chalked it up to his time spent in the military. After everything he’d done, he was quite tired and you learned to be able to fall asleep quickly and with ease. This trait had continued with him even after he’d left the Army. But this night he’d found himself with difficulty getting to sleep. It reminded him of the time that he’d been on the futon when he’d been guarding Eva. But even then, that hadn’t been because of his body it had been because of the bed that he’d been forced to sleep on. His bed now was quite comfortable. Furthermore, he’d had difficulty sleeping then, since he’d been sleeping in the same room as Eva and they weren’t together. Now, there was a ring on her finger. So while the situations were similar, there were more than enough differences to baffle him. He’d opted for the vapid absorption of late night television to settle him down for the night.

The glare of the television was muted, and the sound itself was turned down. An old sitcom, he smirked at the jokes. Old now, they lacked some of the punch that they’d had when they’d first been heard. But the stars had had some staying power over the years, and one hundred episodes, the magic number, had been reached, so syndication was the way to go. In his left hand, he idly rolled around a green plastic house from the Monopoly set that had escaped their furtive search for all the pieces when the game had been over.

By the game being over, it really meant that Steven had conceded defeat, and Eva had claimed victory. He’d gotten to make out with her, so he’d been okay with losing, all things considered. Kissing her was much sweeter than a stack of tan fake hundreds. Now he was sitting on the couch, having left the bedroom as quietly as possible, not wanting to wake his fiance. A commercial was on the TV set, when he felt a hand slide down his chest and someone kiss the top of his head. He leaned his head back to look up at Eva looking down at him.

“Can’t sleep.” She said and it was more statement than question.

“Something like that.” He replied.

She bent the kissed him on the forehead as his free hand came up, placing it over her hand that had stopped on his chest.

“What didn’t you tell me earlier?” She asked and in the semi darkness, he saw her raise an eyebrow when he gave her a little, chagrined smile. “Honey, I’m smarter than I look.”

“And you look really good.”

“Thank you.” She said with a smile. “But you’re trying to get off topic. Point is, I know something’s wrong. C’mon, you big, bad, Sheriff,” the Brazilian woman said, coming around and sitting down on the couch next to him. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

“It’s the homicide case.” Steven said after a moment. She snuggled up against him and made a murmuring sound, so he continued. “Like I said earlier, it’s fairly cut and dry, but the motive for the killing is what bothers me.”

“You said you have a potential perp with a motive.” Eva said, adjusting so that she could see the TV screen while they talked.

“Yeah, but that motive is pretty flimsy. Furthermore, the main suspect, he’s...he’s a teacher. I met the guy, he doesn’t look like a killer or anyone who could kill.”

“Do I?” She asked pointedly and he had to nod in consideration at that. She had a point. Eva had committed two homicides in her life, both considered to be self defense. Michael Vitale had tried to rape and beat her in a long line of abuse that she’d suffered for years by him, and Melanie Horne had had a gun on her with the intent to shoot to kill. “I don’t think I look like someone who can kill, but...I have.” She said, the last part taking a little while in coming out. As someone who had been put into more than one situation where he’d had to take someone else’s life, Steven understood the pain and the emotional distress that it caused. He reached a hand out and rubbed her back, gently.

“I know what you’re trying to say. I get it. Anyone, under the right set of circumstances, can be a killer. It’s just that this was reported perfectly. Had we gotten the call a little bit earlier, maybe even a few minutes, we might have been able to save the guy. The call was anonymous and we weren’t able to trace it, it cut out just in time. Whoever called it in, did it in the right way to ensure that we came across a freshly dead body. There was no chance of saving the guy who got killed.”

“Who was he?” She asked.

“Just some average guy. Worked as a delivery guy for a small company a few blocks from his residence where he was killed. His boss loved him. So did a lot of his co workers, and the ones that didn’t love him didn’t have anything particularly bad to say about him either. Church goer, regular donor. Member of the YMCA and ASPCA. Living the American Dream until someone took a damned lamp to his head and caused internal hemorrhaging.” Steven said.

“The world we live in, it’s not that safe, sometimes.” Eva said, planting a kiss on him. “How can I help you sleep?” She asked, as the sitcom ended and the credits started to roll. When he shrugged, she lifted up, raising herself up on her hands. “There’s got to be something I can do. Back massage?” She asked.

“No, I just need to think some of this through.”

“Mmkay. I’d stay up with you, but I’m a legit working woman now. Or something to that effect.” She said with a smile. Rising, Eva bent and gave him a long, drawn out kiss. “You’ll figure it out, Steven. You always do.”

When Eva came home from work that day, she saw that her fiance was already in the apartment. This was unusual, because she had a regular nine to five of sorts and Steven’s hours were far more volatile. He was sitting down on the sofa, with a wide variety of papers that were spread out over the coffee table. A beer was in his hand and there was a cheeseburger on the table, on a plate. It wasn’t from a fast food place, but it was from a diner. She couldn’t help it, she made a strangled noise of pain.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, I’m disgracing my plates with this shoddily made burger.” Steven said, turning and giving her a smile. “But we both know I’m useless in the kitchen.”

“Sometimes I wonder if that’s the only reason why you keep me around.” She said, shrugging out of her forest green colored overcoat. She smoothed the wrinkles out of the salmon colored shrug that was over the black top that she had on and headed over to where he was.

“I plead the Fifth.” Steven said with a smirk, and she rolled her eyes before she kissed him. Reaching down, she stole a french fry from the collection that was on the plate and munched. “How was your day?” He asked.

“There was some problem with coding, and the programming language that we’re using, but besides that, nothing too interesting.” Eva said, coming around the sofa and sitting down near him. Kicking out of her boots, she leaned back and rested her legs across his lap, beckoning for more french fries. Her workout was going to kill her but she loved fried foods sometimes. Her fiance sighed and handed her the plate, which she rested on her tummy. Her nice, flat tummy. That was going to go to pot with all these carbs. “One of the guys was hitting on me.”

Steven turned and gave her a look. “I’ve got a gun and license.”

“Calm down, Sheriff.” Eva said, feeling the thrill that rushed through her at the sound of him being jealous and protective, but decidedly not in an abusive way. “I politely explained that I’m taken, and he understood, of course. Especially once I explained that my handsome and amazing fiance was in the Gotham City Police Department.”

“Should have mentioned that I’m in charge of the new Major Crimes Unit.” Steven said with a grin.

That, got her attention.

She sat up, almost unsettling the plate of burger and fries, which Steven, eyes widening, rescued. Woman should have known better than to endanger his food. “Oh my God, really?” She asked, her eyes lighting up, and when he nodded, Eva sat up and threw her arms around him, kissing him. “I’m so proud of you.” She said. “You really wanted it and now you got it.” Then she paused. “I told you that a little politicking would go a long way.”

“Yeah, yeah, shut it.” He said and smiled. The look that she was giving him was one of pure happiness. She was genuinely happy for him, and he loved the fact that she supported what he wanted to do, the same way that he supported her in whatever it was that she wanted to do. They really were a good fit. “I love you.” He said.

And it was those “I love you’s”, the ones that were in the moment, and unneeded; the ones that weren’t quickly said as someone rushed out of the door, late for work, scalding their tongue with sips from their coffee; the ones that when you heard them, made a buzzing sensation that could be properly explained that went all the way down to the tips of your toes that she loved. She’d never had a man say those words to her the way that Steven did. Eva would never be able to properly convey how much she appreciated them, appreciated him.

“I love you too.” She said, and they kissed, and it was perfect. “Is that what all these papers are for?” She asked.

“Yeah. It’s going to take some getting used to, but I’m not going to be that much of a street cop anymore. I mean, I wasn’t, I hadn’t been since the Watercrest, because I took over a precinct, but I still got a chance to get out there and really do things. Now I’m that much more of an administrator, because I’m overseeing a unit that watches over the entire city, and the surrounding area.” He said.

“But you’re going to love it, because you love challenges.” Eva said, her brown eyes twinkling. She ran a hand through her hair, unsettling his system, something that she picked up on easily. Leaning in, she whispered into his ear before nibbling on his ear lobe. “Though, hopefully you don’t have a challenge with the hooks of my bra tonight.”

The man in charge of the new Major Crimes Unit looked up from his desk in his office. He couldn’t rightly see what was going on out there, because the windows in his office pointed to the outside world, but his ears were working fine. Something was going on out there and they sounded much too happy. He rose and headed out of the room. The MCU building was a three story set up, and his office was at the top. He’d been against that, but Roberts had told him that that was where the boss was supposed to be. So he’d accepted it and figured that at the end of the day, it didn’t matter where his office was, as long as it helped him get the job done.

His office opened up to a small platform that allowed him to overlook everything that was going on in the building, save for the basement levels. Leaning over the railing, Steven saw what was the cause of the commotion.

His fiance.

Eva was standing in the middle of the room, and she was holding some kind of aluminum foil covered tray. Also, she was directing traffic and the guys and girls of the MCU were listening to her better than they ever listened to him. That amused him. Then she looked up and flashed him that smile and he went to jelly inside. Steven tried his best to frown and act grumpy. Eva rolled her eyes and set the tray down, before walking over to the stairs. It didn’t take her too long to climb the two flights of stairs so that she was on the third floor. Then she was walking up towards him.

“Hey Sheriff.” She said with a smile, kissing him on the cheek. “How’s your day of crime fighting.”

“Just took a turn for the worse. You don’t feed them. Then they don’t do their jobs.” He said.

“Slave driver.”

He smirked. “Well, when I have to pick up the slack and I’m not home more often, then you’ll only have yourself to blame.” He said.

“I suppose that’s some kind of threat.” Eva said, leaning in and thumping him lightly on the chest. “I got you something too.” She said, walking into his office. Her eyes flitted around for a moment as he followed. “Dry, cold, and rather stoic. Fits you well, I think.”

“Glad you approve. What’d you get me?” He asked.

She turned and reached into her bag, pulling out a small wrapped rectangle. Handing it to him, she waited as he opened it and then a wave of relief went through her when he smiled. She hadn’t been sure if Steven was the type for this sort of thing. Furthermore, Eva hadn’t been sure if she was the type either. It had seemed like a good idea, but on the way here, she had been wondering if she should just chuck it out the window and not go for it. Now she was glad that she had.

He set the picture down on his desk, near his computer. it was a simple shot of the two of them, in his mother’s house. Steven’s mother had taken the picture the day that the two of them had come over to tell her about the engagement.

Steven sat down in his office, and looked at the computer screens in front of him. Now he didn’t have just Batman to worry about but another guy dressing up and running around. Just what he needed. Many of the news reports were saying that it was just one, the Batman, but the methods used were a lot different than that of the Batman. Much more brutal to the point of potentially killing. Batman didn’t kill, Steven knew that. Which meant that they had a copy cat running around, thinking that he was Batman. So far he hadn’t heard anything from the big guy. All he could do was hope that it wasn’t going to turn into some war between two guys to see who could beat the other, with Gotham City in between them.

Then, come hell or high water, both of them were going down.

He also had Morricone to deal with. Giovanni Morricone had been a mid level player back during the Vitale family days, but the whole paradigm had shifted now. They were still trying to figure out what to do with the power vacuum that had been created when Vitale had been sentenced for al those wonderful years. Steven had been monitoring the various gangs and crime families, but he didn’t know if Morricone had sufficiently stepped it up so that he was the new guy. He had the muscle for it, but most of his work was actually legitimate. He ran a few casinos throughout Gotham City, nothing too shady about that. Sure, there were shady elements, and there were things that went on back there that shouldn’t, but it was nowhere near being as full blown organized crime as the Vitale Family, the Mafia.

Sitting back in his chair, he reached into his drawer and pulled out the pack of cigarettes. What Eva didn’t know would hurt her, at least when it came to this. She was trying to get him to quit just like his mother would, but he needed some vice to keep him going through all of this. A few minutes into the cigarette, his cell phone rang.

“Hey babe.” He answered, feeling guilty about the cigarette.

“Hey, I just got off the phone with Cindy. What happened with Jennifer?” Eva asked.

“She got attacked, jumped. Guys dragged her into a building. She had the wherewithal to call 911 and we had two police officers close enough in the area to get to her. Actually she’s in the MCU right now.” He said. “Been a hell of a day for Irskens.” He said.

“I’m sorry.” She said, her voice warm and soothing. “It’s a lot to deal with.” She said. “How’s the Morricone thing going?” She asked.

“Slowly. Building information and what not. Unfortunately this time around, we do not have Morricone’s accountant and the person who handled everything when it came to organizational structure.” He said.

“Well, I’m one of a kind.” Eva said.

“That you are.” Steven said with a laugh. “How’s your work?” He asked.

“This is a normal precinct thing.” Joel said, taking a drink from his morning coffee. He’d seen Jennifer out that morning and then he’d headed in to work. “So why are you bringing this here?” He asked the precinct chief who was on the video conference call. “He’s a John Doe, washed up out of the sewers. Hardly a Major Crimes Unit problem.” He said. “Colin, you’re going to have to come up with something better than that.” He said.

“Irskens has a point.” Steven said, from behind his desk. “It’s not that I don’t like solving cases. I do. But people keep dumping things on Major Crimes now.” He said. “I don’t like that. We’ve got enough to worry about when it comes to the city. Who’s taking over from the Vitale’s? What about the other ethnicities? What’s Morricone doing?” He asked, noting the involuntary flex of Irskens’ right hand. “I don’t really have time to deal with a washed up body.” He said.

“Major Crimes.” Joel repeated.

Colin Britton nodded. “I know, but we haven’t had any luck with getting some kind of ID for this guy. I’m not asking you to solve the case, but at least help me out. If I can’t even identify the victim how am I supposed to solve anything?” He asked. “Major Crimes has access to larger databases, and can get access to databases outside of the state and the country. Throw me a bone here, Steven.” He said.

Steven considered. “Fine, we’ll take a look at the guy. But, you agree to giving Major Crimes a handicap when it comes to the charity football game in a couple months.”

“And any team I’ve been on has always won the title. Major Crimes will continue that legacy.” He said. “Besides, if it’s for charity and you want to solve the case, then you’ll have no problem with giving me the handicap. We have home field advantage.”

The precinct chief huffed and then pointed, almost jabbing the webcam that was attached to his computer. “Ever since you got engaged, you’ve been deadly with these negotiations.” He said.

“Future wife used to work for the Mafia. She taught me how to make offers that people can’t refuse.” Steven said.

“Brando would be proud.” Joel added with a sage nod and the two shared smiles.

“Fine. You’ll get your fucking home field advantage. But give me something.” Colin said and then the screen winked out.

“You’re a bad, bad man.” Joel said.

Steven gave him a look of mock surprise. “You’re my running back. Make Adrian Peterson look like a chump. Besides, I figured you’d appreciate a chance to show off to Cindy. Remind her you’ve still got it.”

Joel gave a short bark of a laugh. “Ha, I like that.” He said. He stopped, as he’d been walking towards the door. Looking back he spoke again. “Haven’t heard anything about the attack?” He asked.

They’d done the legwork and had sent Britton his information. Though it had taken some time to cross-reference everything, they had positively identified the man who had been washed up from the sewers. Nothing to it, in the end. A relatively easy task, Steven felt rather good about the added benefit that had been afforded for the Major Crimes Unit. Being able to pick where the charity football game would be, that was a big plus for him. He was sitting in his office, looking out of the window, as the sun set on Gotham City. They were dealing with a shit storm right now that was for sure.

Giovanni Morricone was dead.

The heir apparent to the Vitale Family, Morricone had been poised to take over the bulk of the organized crime in Gotham. The Vitale family had been reeling after the death of Michael Vitale, and they hadn’t been on sure footing since. In addition, the trial had taken its obvious toll, and other players had been more than willing to step up in the Vitale’s absence. Namely one of their smaller families. Morricone had had the money, through his numerous casinos spread throughout the city and the state. In Gotham City, the old adage that money bought power was always true.

He’d bought the muscle that he’d needed for his bid. It was also possible that he had been the man behind the attack on Joel Irsken’s adopted daughter, and that was something that hadn’t sat well with anyone who worked in the MCU. The second in command of the MCU was a well-respected older police officer and he had been distraught when he’d heard about the attack on Jennifer. He’d wanted to go to Morricone’s house and beat the shit out of the man then and there. Santieri hadn’t been sure if he would have stopped him, or offered to hold his jacket.

You didn’t mess with family like that. Steven understood that. His own father had been killed in the line of duty because he had refused to bow down to the almighty Don Francesco and his son, Michael Vitale. It was an interesting turn of play, considering now, Francesco was behind bars, Michael was dead, and Steven was engaged to Michael’s former fiancé.

They’d received word of some attack on the Morricone family during Thanksgiving. Steven had been one of the responders to the attack, as anything that happened to the Morricone family fell under the purview of the Major Crimes Unit. Eva hadn’t been too pleased, since it was one of their first serious holidays as a couple.

He remembered when he had gotten there and what he had seen. Morricone had been at his home, with his estranged son, his son’s wife, and the couple’s children. Everyone had been attacked, but only Charles and Giovanni had been seriously injured. Whoever had attacked them, had cut off both men’s faces. They’d taken the face of the younger Morricone and had found a way to permanently affix the skin to the head of the older Morricone.

If that hadn’t been gruesome enough, he’d heard of what had happened after that.

Apparently Morricone’s adopted son, Charles Morricone, had snapped. In the hospital, being treated for his wounds, he had left his room and had, with a serrated knife that was far too small for the job, proceeded to saw his adopted father’s head off. Clean off, with blood everywhere. Steven did not envy the nurse who had found that, since the machines had probably been going haywire.

He rose and walked out of the office, heading up the stairs for the one of the few cigarettes that he had a day, always while at work and away from the eyes of his disapproving wife to be, Eva Rodriguez. Hell of a thing, that Morricone situation. Charles was missing. Worse than that, someone had apparently killed his wife and children. His father’s twenty something model girlfriend, who had returned from Europe upon hearing the news, had been kidnapped. Her whereabouts were also unknown.

No one had been able to be less sympathetic to the whole thing than Joel Irskens.

Standing on the rooftop, Steven lit his cigarette. Inhaling deeply, he breathed out the nicotine. And cursed when he heard a voice that came close to startling him.

“I thought we talked about how those are bad for you, Lieutenant.”

He turned, letting his hand drop away from his pistol, a motion that had been done out of pure habit. Steven looked into the eyes of the Batman, and went ahead and took another drag. “Way people are dropping these days, it’s not going to hurt.” Steven replied. “I thought your plan was to clean up the city.” He said.

“I…know who attacked the Morricone family.” Batman replied. “It’s someone that I’ll take care of. But that’s not why I’m here.” He said, the last part to stem off the question from Santieri that he had known would be coming. “It’s about the Gotham Trust robbery.”

“What Gotham Trust robbery?” Steven asked with a smirk. “Maybe you haven’t heard, but in order for it to be a robbery, the alleged robbers have to take something. Nothing was touched. The only explosives that were actually used, were used to provide them with an escape. The ones that were present for us to see, for the hostages to see, they were fake. Cardboard and cheap plastic. Nothing really traceable there.”

“I know.” Batman replied. “You have to have some theories regarding the security footage. It’s not aligned properly in three places, and in multiple frames, there’s camera ghosts and lighting issues. They’ve been retouched.”

“Obviously they’ve been…” Steven said, gesturing and then he stopped. He looked back at Batman. “The only people who have that footage are the bank and the MCU. I’m assuming you didn’t get it from the bank.” He said, and Batman was silent. “Do you want me to tell you the potential jail time for breaking into a police database?” He asked.

“Do you want me to tell you if I care?” Batman replied. “But if you want to, go ahead. Only if you promise to tell your fiancé the same thing, when you get home.” He added. “Lieutenant, we both know that there’s something going on here, let’s stop doing the dance of whether or not my actions could be considered legal or not. It distracts from the task at hand.”

Santieri frowned and looked away. As much as he hated to admit it, Batman had a point. He was pissed that the other man had hacked the database, sure, but at the same time, he was grateful that the man was on the job and helping in some way. Sure, he didn’t fully trust him, not yet, but they had been working together for a few months and so far, he had no cause to distrust him.

“Fine, let’s talk about what we know. Please feel free to interrupt if you have anything I don’t.” Steven said, finishing the cigarette and grinding the butt under the heel of his shoe. “We have a bank robbery where the robbers didn’t take anything. They didn’t hurt anyone and the damage to the structure itself was minimal and covered by insurance. The only thing they’re guilty of is false imprisonment, definitely assault, and probably some battery. That’s to the people. Though there is a murder charge for the security guard.” Steven said, ticking off on his fingers. “Property damage is another thing. We have video surveillance from the bank, but it’s obvious that something is off.”

Batman nodded. “Have you had your people work on the data itself? Try to improve the quality?”

“Yeah, but there’s not much that can be done. I’ve got people working on it, but there have been other cases.”

“Like what?” Batman asked. “Major Crimes only has this and the Morricone case on the table at the moment.”

“That’s true, but we also help out other units and precincts.” Steven. “Budgetary reasons. We try to prioritize. Just the other day, we finished properly identifying the John Doe from the sewers for Colin Britton.”

“Britton is a hack.”

Steven smiled, slightly. “Britton’s not the greatest, that’s true. He has his moments. Anyway, we got him the information that he was looking for.” He said, turning away. “A Reuben Corick from Colgate Heights. Nothing interesting about him, nothing for the MCU, but it’s my way of keeping the other units and precincts in my favor. Nothing like making sure I have their support when I need it. You know what I mean?” He asked, and turned back.

Batman was gone.

“Should be getting used to that.” Steven said with a shake of his head.

IC:
“This is starting to get ridiculous.” Joel Irskens said, dropping into the chair in front of Steven’s desk.

“The fact that you don’t knock? Yeah, it is.” Steven said, not bothering to look up at one of his best friends and the second in command of the MCU. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

“The gangland activity in Colgate Heights.” Irskens replied. “What happened about the John Doe that we identified, he was from Colgate Heights, wasn’t he?” He asked, and Steven nodded. “You know, me and Cindy thought about moving there a few years ago. Now I’m glad we didn’t. You know who’s causing the ruckus, don’t you?” He asked, and Steven finally looked up. “I’m telling you, we know who’s doing it, we need to talk to them.”

“We have suspects, but no credible evidence. We can’t just waltz into Supreme’s territory and start putting the moves on him. You think he cares that I’m the head of the MCU or that you’re the second in command? Cindy and Eva are going to get visits from the damn chaplain.”

“What happened to you?” Joel asked, shaking his head as he got up. “You used to be full of fire, full of wanting to go catch these motherfuckers that pollute the streets. What, did the desk job make you soft?” He asked.

Steven shook his head, leaning back in the chair and causing it to roll backwards a bit. He could see that Irskens was angry about this, but he knew that deep down the man was more upset about the fact that it looked like his daughter was being targeted by the scum of Gotham than anything else. Always upset a cop when a family member was being attacked, and “upset” was a light word to use.

“You know what? Maybe it did.” Steven said, getting up himself and walking over to the glass siding of his office that overlooked the MCU pit. “It’s more than just me now. I’ve got everyone’s lives down there, in my hands. I’ve got their families’ lives. I can’t not give a fuck, Joel.”

“Well, I’m going down there to talk to Supreme.” Joel said. “Feel free to grow a pair and come with me. Someone has got to talk to him.” He added, as he started to walk out of the office. “It might as well be me, instead of some rookie cop. We need to know what’s going on and if there is a war brewing, how do we stop it.”

Steven looked at his watch. He was supposed to be meeting Eva to catch dinner and a movie in a couple of hours. “Fine, I’ll go with you.” He said, making the decision. His fiancé would understand, and he couldn’t just let Joel go out there by himself. In addition, as much as he trusted and trained a lot of the cops in the Major Crimes Unit, he didn’t want anyone else but himself riding shotgun with Joel.

“Finally, just like the old days.”

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

“You gentlemen came a long way from the MCU.” Supreme said with a smile. He was sitting in his booth, eating a steak with potatoes and asparagus. “You didn’t have to do all that for little old me, you know.”

The restaurant was dead, but then again, that was how Supreme wanted it. He had people spread throughout the place. A diner, it had various spots of ill repair. But it did have atmosphere, and Steven probably would have come here to eat once or twice. He liked atmosphere. One of Supreme’s men walked forward, to frisk Joel, and Irskens gave the other man a look that clearly told him to fuck off.

“Chill.” Supreme said. “These boys aren’t going to harm me. Despite being the closest thing to white knights Gotham has seen in a while.”

“You didn’t pay attention to the election?” Steven asked, dropping into the booth across from Supreme, while Joel pulled up a chair and flipped it backwards, before sitting down. “That new District Attorney, what’s his name, Clarence Rodgers? That was his whole platform. I mean, I get it, convicted felon, so you can’t vote, but that doesn’t mean you should be an informed citizen.”

“That white boy don’t know shit about fighting crime. He’s some local lawyer who used to be an assistant DA before going to Internal Affairs, before he got forced out and went corporate. Now he's back like he's going to fix the city or something. Like he know shit. How’s that for informed?”

“If you’re so informed, maybe you can talk to us a bit about these street fights.” Joel said, reaching out and grabbing the bottle of wine that was on the table. He poured himself a glass and took a sip. Supreme rolled his eyes in response and was about to speak but Joel cut him off. “Don’t tell me that it’s just kids. We know how these streets work. Kids start at an early age. Eleven years old with a Tec-9 isn’t something I haven’t seen before.”

“It’s a jungle out here, and someone has to provide the law.” The black man said. “Look, you know how I operate. I push the drugs where the drugs want to be pushed, but I don’t feed it to the kids. We stay away from schools. Anytime you’ve caught a guy from my group who did just that, he never got lawyer money from me, and that’s a God damned fact, Santieri.” He said, pointing a finger towards Santieri who had to nod in response.

“No one is questioning your…criminal integrity.” Steven said. “But first we have these gangland shootings, and now apparently one of your trucks got stopped in Bludhaven.” He said, and saw a look of confusion come over Supreme’s face. That was a bit surprising. Usually Supeme was on the nose when it came to things happening to his dealings. “Oh yeah, talk to your boys.” He said. “One of your gun trucks got stopped and pounded on. All your guys are missing and so are the guns.” Steven said and looked over at Joel. “How much do one of those monthly things bring you in?” He asked.

“More than a couple hundred thousand, am I right?” Joel asked, feigning a lack of knowledge.

“I thought it was closer to a million. You’re pushing the guns heavy, because you don’t want to upset the other groups in the city that do move weight.” Steven said. “This is actually a big set back for you guys. Surprised you didn’t know.” He said. “Anyway, we need to talk one of these days about these gangland things, but from the looks of it, you have more important shit to deal with right now.” He said, and rose, signaling Joel.

“Why are we letting him off the hook that easily?” Joel asked, as they stepped outside of Lucky’s Diner.

“Because there’s a shitstorm waiting to happen in there, that I don’t want to have to deal with right now.” Steven said. “You saw his face. He didn’t know about the gun truck. Don't quote me on it, but it looks like there’s about to be a power struggle in Supreme’s gang.”

IC:
Steven Santieri was getting ready to get out of the office, when the call came in.

Someone was breaking into Wayne Enteprises.

Unfortunately, when it came to the list of crimes that fell under the purvey of the Major Crimes Unit, simple breaking and entering, even on a corporate level, wasn’t on the list. However, it was Wayne Enterprises, pretty much the beating heart of Gotham. The company was responsible for probably well over sixty percent of the gross domestic product of Gotham City, as well as over thirty percent of the population’s buying power. Wayne Enterprises was Gotham City’s heart in a number of ways, and so if anything happened there, it definitely fell under the Major Crimes Unit’s jurisdiction. With the level of importance of the company, it more than justified Steven going there to help and take a look.

He made a mental note that it was possible that his fiancé was going to argue with him about whether or not she owed him in Monopoly, due to their bet.

While he was on the ground floor of the MCU building, Steven quickly moved up the stairs to his office, to grab his jacket. He saw his phone and reached for it, as it lit up to tell him that he had a voicemail from Eva. Undoubtedly it was about this. Even if Wayne Enterprises hadn’t been that big, Steven would have been going in there because of that simple reason, his fiancé was there. Nothing and no one was allowed to make her feel unsafe or to hurt her. Steven would kill any one who tried to do that, and happily take the manslaughter charge. He got ready to go, when Irskens walked into his office and held a hand up.

“We got patched through into an emergency call from a woman who says that she’s near the intruders and can tell us about them. Figured we’d take it on the road.”

Steven nodded and Irskens went back to talking to the woman as they headed out of the building and got into Steven’s car, driving out of the MCU parking lot.

“Yes, ma’am, I understand, what did you say your name was?” Irskens asked. “Okay, Ms Kane, I’m going to need you to take a breath for me. It’ll be okay.” He said, and then covered the mouthpiece. “Her name’s Nicole Kane, apparently she’s some science-y chick who works for Wayne.”

“Keep her on the line and see what she can tell us.” Steven said.

“Yeah, yeah.” He said, and went back to the conversation. “Nicole, what can you tell us about the men that are in the building?” He asked. He waited as she responded. “They have guns? What do the guns look like? That’s…descriptive. Oh, okay, well, that works, too.” Irskens said, and covered the receiver again before turning to Steven once more.

“What is it?” Steven asked.

“Her dad’s a retired First Sergeant.”

“I like her.”

“You’ll like her more when she identified that we’re dealing with MP5K and Bizon toting guys.” Irskens said with a chuckle, and then he stopped. The phone had been up to his ear, so he could still hear Nicole. What he was hearing now was not sitting well with him. “Nicole! Nicole, are you okay?” He said, turning and almost yelling into the phone.

“What? What happened?” Steven asked, swiveling his gaze between the road and Irskens.

“There was a crash and she started screaming. I think they found her.”

Steven and Irskens were in the building, and leading a group of armed GCPD MCU officers as they moved through the floors of the building. It seemed as though everything had calmed down from the fast paced insanity that had been happening only a few minutes before. There were reports of a Batman sighting, but Steven and Irskens were more concerned with the safety of the people than anything to do with him. Steven needed to find Eva and when he got into the computer room where she was, his eyes scanned the place, looking for her. He spied her, and her back was to him, so she didn’t see him. As he walked towards her, she continued her work on her computer.

She made a startled sound when her fiancé grabbed her from behind and turned her, to check her.

“Are you okay?” Steven asked.

“What? Yes, yes, I’m fine.” Eva said. “Steven, you need to let me go, there are people who need medical attention and I’m trying to coordinate with emergency services.” She said, but he shook his head.

“Are you okay?” He asked, against, putting weight behind his words.

She stopped and cocked her head to the side, brushing his face with her hand. “Steven. I’m fine.” She said. She knew his sense of protectiveness when it came to her, despite the fact that he knew that she was tough and could get through a lot. Most of the time, he gave her the space to do what she needed how she needed to do it, but in something like this, she knew that his need to keep her safe was going to override that.

“Do you know where a Nicole Kane is?” Irskens asked, coming up behind them. “We were on the phone with her when she was attacked by the people who tried to break in.” He said.

“I think I know who you’re talking about. She was involved in the first altercation that the robbers had with the Batman. There’s been a beacon that was placed on her, it’s been pinging on the network.” Nigel said, pulling up footage, and rewinding it through the holographic interface. He pointed at the fallen form of Nicole Kane. “Is that her?” He asked, and Eva reached out, tapping a few more keys. The computer isolated part of her identification badge and then pulled up her file.

The name was emblazoned brightly. Nicole Kane.

“That’s her.” Steven said and started moving.

She had been injured, definitely, and with any luck, they would be able to get to her and get to her in time in order to be able to do something. It looked like she had been seriously hurt from everything that had happened.

The MCU was subdued. But that wasn’t that surprising. Irksens had gone home to his wife and adopted daughter, and Steven was finishing typing up the reports for what had happened that day. There weren't that many people in the building at this point anyway, what with the tasks that Steven had given everyone. Someone had broken into Wayne Enterprises, one of the places though impregnable, the castle in the middle of Gotham City. He had evidence teams working to figure out what was going on, and get him more data. While he had wanted to make sure that Eva was okay, apparently she had been contacted by the CEO of Wayne Enterprises herself, Britney Harmon, to spearhead the investigation from the Wayne side of things. Of course, his fiancé had agreed. She hadn’t been hurt during the break in, so why wouldn’t she try to uncover what had happened?

Hopefully this wasn’t going to turn into a repeat of the Gotham Trust robbery that wasn’t a robbery. There had to be some evidence that would point them in a direction. That was all that Santieri needed to get on the trail. Just some shred of evidence. He wasn’t asking for much. Anyone that would break into a corporation like Wayne deserved to get some justice coming to them. Wayne AgriCrops had kept the city fed during the Chrell Invasion. It was just one story of many that he could think of about the good that the company had done.

Hugh Muir had been a great man. His son came across as though he was more interested in getting laid than anything, but Isaiah Muir had never ceased any of the good things that his father had started. If anything he had increased him.

Santieri’s phone buzzed and he reached for it, guessing that it was Eva calling to check up on him. When he turned it over, he saw that he had gotten a text message and he frowned.

Rooftop. Now.

Only one man would send him a message like this. That bastard had been there, he was one of the reasons why Nicole Kane was in the condition that she was in. Grabbing his jacket, Steven headed to the elevator. Soon he was on the roof and he looked around.

“Lieutentant.”

He turned at the sound of his rank. There was the Batman, perched on top of the doorway entrance.

“You really have to show more care for the innocent bystanders when you beat the bad guys, you know that?” He asked.

“What do you mean?” Batman asked.

“Nicole Kane. She’s a scientist with Wayne Enterprises. When you were taking out the guys doing the break in, you let racks of chemicals fall on her. She’s in intensive care, right now.” Santieri said.

“She’ll survive.” Batman said. “You’re going to do something for me.”

“Survive?” Steven said, angrily, stepping forward. “I don’t have to do anything for you. There’s a woman in intensive care because of you. I could have you arrested for reckless endangerment.” He said.

Batman held out his hands, for Santieri to cuff him, and Steven could see that in one of his hands, Batman held a folder filled with documents.

“Then cuff me, Lieutenant. Or don’t. I don’t care. But I have work to do, and you’re melodrama is starting to grate on my nerves. Nicole Kane will be fine. I’ve already taken a look at what happened to her and guided her doctors in the right direction. She’s in critical care, but she’ll be able to pull through, I don’t doubt it.” He said. “Don’t mistake my methods for a lack of care. I simply understand that there is some collateral damage that I can live with.”

“Collateral damage? How do you sleep at night?”

“By knowing that doing what I do ensures the safety of far more than just Ms. Kane. Don’t worry, I get kept up at night by the things that I do, if you’re that worried.”

Steven looked away, biting down on the anger at Batman’s seemingly blasé attitude to the plight of the woman scientist. “What are those papers?” He asked.

“It’s part of what you’re…what I need you to do for me.” Batman said, handing them over.

Taking the folder, Steven looked down, starting to leaf through them. “Well this is just interesting. How do you expect me to make this fly?” He asked.

“File them, and I’ll handle the rest.” Batman said. “Your computer system will redistribute the dates and ensure that everything is done the way it needs to be. Trust me.” He said.

“Why should I do this for you?” Steven asked, shaking his head in disbelief that he was even considering doing this for the other man, after the sheer lack of consideration that Batman was showing to his fellow human being.
“Because this is how I’ll be able to get answers as to who broke into Wayne Enterprises.” Batman replied.

Steven flipped back to the first page and stared down at it for a moment. “This name is stupid.” He said. “You couldn’t come up with anything more original than-” He said and looked up, realizing that he was alone. He sighed. “More original than Matches Malone?” He asked, finishing the sentence.

“Yeah, but not in the Major Crimes unit gun range with other people around, people who work for me.” Steven replied, leaning against the wall of the firing lane. “I know they’d stop what they’re doing and look. Gotta maintain my strong, mean, outer demeanor in order to keep these clowns in line. Unfortunately, that throws all the possibilities out the window.” He rested his head up against the wall, and closed his eyes. “I have to say, you’ve taken to this very well, even if you’re not a fan of guns. Didn’t take too long, but now you’ve got your basics down, and it’s a good start. I want you to try multiple moving targets now.” He said.

His fiancé dropped the magazine from the pistol, setting it on the stand, and mirrored his stance but on the opposing wall, crossing her arms over her chest. The pistol was her Smith & Wesson Model 5906, though in actuality it was Steven’s pistol. He’d given it to her back when she had been under police protection for her part in testifying against the Vitale crime family. It was also the pistol she had used in self-defense to kill Melanie Horne, the FBI Agent who had actually been working for the Vitales. Horne’s job had been to be the Vitale’s mole on the inside, feeding them information on the trial and keeping tabs on Eva and her protection detail, which she had been in charge of.

Towards the end of the trial, that job had changed, to kill Eva before she could complete her testimony. Now, it was her firearm officially, as she’d applied, at Steven’s request, for a firearms license of her own and once she’d gotten it, he had given the pistol to her, signing all the necessary paperwork. She understood that the family of police officers could be threatened and harmed very easily, especially in a city like Gotham City. Steven, as the person in charge of the Major Crimes unit, faced more threats than most.

Eva was, as Steven had said, not that fond of firearms. But she had gotten the license to give Steven peace of mind. If it made her future husband rest a bit easier, knowing that she had her license, had the pistol, and knew how to handle it, then it was a small price to pay, to her. His job was already difficult enough, and knowing that his wife was safe would make it a bit easier for him.

“Why? Why do I need to work on multiple moving targets. Are you anticipating I need to shoot a lot of people soon?” She asked, her tone becoming mock accusatory. “What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything. There’s nothing like being prepared for things.”

She rolled her eyes. “You did something.” Eva said, pointing a finger at him. “I’ve got enough problems at work.” She said, running a hand through her long, black hair. “We’re still reeling from that data breach and the attack on Wayne Enterprises.” Taking a step back to the firing lane, she pointed at him again, over her shoulder. “Don’t think I’m going to give you any information, even if you ask nicely. I hate cops.”

With a grin on his face, Steven came up behind her, resting his chin on her shoulder and sliding his arms around her waist. “That’s not true. You don’t hate me.”

“I especially hate you, especially when you and Joel eat during your shifts when you could bring good food from home, that I take the time out of my day to make even though we work the same number of hours.” She said, shooting him a deathly icy glare over her shoulder. He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss.

“You like to cook. You were going to make the food anyway.”

“That’s not the point.”

He grinned. “Okay, I’ll bite. What’s the point?”

“The point, Sheriff, is that you shouldn’t teach me to shoot so well when you’re so very annoying.” Eva stated with a sweet smile.

There was a knock on the wall of the firing lane, and both turned to see Joel Irskens standing there. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” He asked.

“Besides me trying to wipe off the bad influence you are to him? No, nothing.”

The much taller bear of a man made an incredulous face of disbelief, pointing to himself as if he couldn’t believe Eva’s words. “Me? Bad influence? Ms. Rodriguez, I assure you, I would never do such a thing. Your fiancé is a God fearing, honest and upright man, I promise you.”

“Mayor’s announcement is in a few minutes. News people said Muir is going to be there.”

Eva put her pistol back into the holster. “I always love it when he stops by, at work.” She said, putting away the rounds and emptying the magazine. She winked at Steven. “He’s just so…ruggedly good looking, and you know, he always wants to try some of the food I bring from home.”

“I hate you.”

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Steven’s office was on the third floor of the Major Crimes Unit building, the glass walls of one of the sides letting him see over the entirety of the MCU building. Steven, Eva, and Joel sat in the office, watching the news on the small television set in the office. The news conference was about to start.

“I wonder what it’s for.” Eva said.

Steven reached into his wallet and pulled out a ten-dollar bill.

“Ten bucks says they’re reopening Arkham.” He said.

“Get out of here.” Joel said, shaking his head. “We haven’t had a reason to have an Arkahm Asylum in decades.” He said.

“Remember the guy that Star City Police Department picked up a few weeks ago? They can’t hold him in Blackgate. He’s clearly got some mental issues. I was here when they booked him.”

“That guy is here, still in the building?” Eva asked, turning and looking at Steven, her eyes wide. “Why would he be here?” She asked.

Steven nodded. “He kidnapped children, making it a special victims case, but because of the number of children he kidnapped and the duration of the operation, that made it a major crimes unit case.” He stated. “So yeah, long story short, he’s in the basement, locked up right now.”

The door to the rooftop of the Major Crimes Unit of the Gotham City Police Department opened and Steven Santieri stepped out into the cool, crisp air of Gotham. He breathed it in, deeply, and let the door shut behind him. It had been a long day. They were working on an in deep stakeout operation of the man now calling himself Cobblepot. He’d taken over the remains of Supreme’s mob of dealers and apparently he had consolidated a lot of power behind him. With Francesco Vitale out of the picture, the power struggle was still being felt in the vacuum that had become Gotham City’s underworld. There had been rumors that Giovanni Morricone was going to unite the remnants of the Mafia, but with his untimely demise that hadn’t come to pass. The death of the man had sent more shockwaves throughout the criminal element, and Steven wasn’t too sure he wouldn’t have been happier with Morricone in charge of things.

Francesco had dealt with things with a heavy hand, and Morricone, at least, would have brought a bit more tact and diplomacy. But things were still chaotic, and people like Supreme and now Cobblepot had been able to take advantage of that. There were rumors that he’d hired a new hit squad, who called themselves Slaughterhouse. That was something Steven had put some of his detectives on.

He needed information and he needed it badly.

“Lieutenant.”

He was starting to get less startled by the arrival of his sometimes compatriot and he turned towards a corner of the rooftop and eyed the Batman.

Batman stepped forward more into the moonlight. “I had people check in on Nicole Kane.” He said. He smirked slightly when Steven raised an eyebrow. “Yes, I have people.” He added. “She’s doing well, though there’s no consensus, yet, on what’s wrong with her. She was doused with a lot of different chemicals.” He said.

Steven nodded. He was glad that Batman was doing some follow up on some of the collateral damage caused by the attack on Wayne Enterprises. It had been tactical and vicious and it was something eating at the back of his mind over the past few days. “I don’t suppose you’re here to talk to my friend downstairs in my dungeon.”

“Desmond Carroll? No. The newspapers dubbed him the Mad Hatter, but I think that’s because of all of his Alice in Wonderland references he made to the reporters who came to talk to him. He’s a celebrity.” Batman said.

“Scared he’s going to encroach in on your territory?” Steven asked with a smile.

“Not at all. I’m the one able to breathe free air.”

“Because I let you.”

“Because I’m necessary.” Batman replied. “I have some information on the attack at Wayne Enterprises.” He said and Steven could tell that the small talk was over. It was time to get to business.

Taking a few steps back, Steven opened up his arms, indicating he was all ears and ready.

“The attack was meant to look sloppy, but it was rather sophisticated. I…accessed some of Wayne’s files to get a better look.” Batman said. “It’s still a ways off, but I think I should have something sooner rather than later. I’ll give you what I have, when I do. I need to speak to a few more people before I have anything concrete. But I wanted to talk to you about the bank robbery.”

“What bank robbery?” Steven asked, even though he knew exactly what Batman was speaking referring to. “Gotham Trust reported nothing stolen. I was told to drop the investigation by the Mayor’s office. He doesn’t want any bad press before he announces his reelection bid. Honestly, I’m more concerned about the power vacuum. Cobblepot is starting to make moves. Why is he even called that, anyway?” He asked. “I know why he wanted to call himself that, it was rhetorical. I know who the Penguin was.”

“Let me look into the power vacuum.”

Steven laughed. “Well, if I let you do everything, there’s not exactly much for me to do is there? How about this, I’ll deal with the power vacuum, and you take care of our fake bank robbery and the attack on Wayne.”

“That could work. I heard that Cobblepot has hired new muscle.”

“Slaughterhouse.” Steven replied, nodding and looking down at the ground. “We’re looking into it. Not exactly the nicest of names.” He said. “Do you what you need, and I guess we’ll talk again.” He said and looked up.

The half-eaten sandwich sat on the plate, a promise of things to come. Right now, Steven was in the middle of searching for documents on his computer. While he considered himself pretty good with computers and rather intelligent, in this moment he wished he had his fiancé’s expertise. He had no idea where he had left the documents, and city forms were not something to play around with. They could take a long ass time to fill out and he was trying to finish up for the night. The thumping against the wall wasn’t helping. He got up, grabbing the can of Diet Coke and walked over to the office that was next to his.

“What.”

He stared at the man who was absentmindedly throwing a red rubber ball against the wall. He raised his arms up but the other man kept throwing the ball against the wall and catching it, repeating it over and over again.

“Why are you causing a racket?” He asked Joel.

“Juliet isn’t talking to me.” Irskens said.

“Your step-daughter isn’t talking to you, so you decide to make noise for me?” Steven asked, shaking his head. He jerked his thumb at the wall their offices shared. “I’m trying to finish up some last minute paper work.” He said.

Joel scowled, his eyes focused still on the wall. “I’m not sure what it is.” He said, continuing onwards and ignoring what Steven had said. “You see, I’m pretty sure when that Conroy bastard lost her, something happened. Obviously, nothing bad, but something. She’s been different ever since then.” He said, finally looking over at Steven. “You know, I’m a pretty good detective.”

Steven laughed, dropping into the couch in Irsken’s office. “You say that now, but if you had to testify to that statement in court, I have a feeling you’d get booked for perjury, buddy.”

“Fuck off.” Joel replied good naturedly. “I’m a good detective, and I know she’s up to something. She’s been home from college now, got her degree. Says she’s looking for a job, but I don’t know.” He said and caught the ball, looking at it for a moment before looking back at Steven. “Something’s off, you know?” He added before tossing the ball again.

Steven smirked, drinking from his soda to hide the look on his face. “So far, top notch work, Detective. What’s the problem? She’s only been graduated for a few months. Finding a job can be difficult.”

Joel caught the ball on the rebound. “True.” He said, throwing it again. “True. But she never shut up about all the things she was going to do. Used to be kind of annoying, I gotta say I kind of miss it now. Even Cindy’s noticed. Jules is a lot quieter.” He said.

At least if he was going to suffer through the incessant bouncing of the ball off the wall, he could enjoy himself a little bit. Steven did know where to push Joel’s buttons. “Maybe she just needs to go on a date.” Steven said. “Relationships take people’s minds off of things. Last thing you want is for her to end up living at home, hanging around in your basement. You like it now, ‘oh my little girl is at home.’ You won’t eventually.”

“My little girl is never going on a date, Santieri.” Joel said and then he turned watching as Steven got up a big smile on his face. “What?” He asked.

The guy in charge of the Major Crimes Unit shrugged. “Nothing, I’m just thinking of who around here I can bully into asking your daughter out on a date.”

Joel, his eyes on Steven, missed the ball and it bounced on the ground, rolling under a cabinet. He rose and pointed a finger at his best friend’s son. “Steven, I love you like my son. But I will break your knee cap if-“

“Maybe I’ll get Conroy to do it.”

“I hate that fuck. He’s the one who lost her.”

Steven rolled his eyes, starting to walk out of the office. “Are you done punishing him because your girl ran off away from the protection?” He asked.

Irksens shrugged. “Maybe.” He said, sitting back down and looking around for the ball. “Maybe not. Ah, fuck him. Make him pay his dues. I put him on the thing you asked for people for.”

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

You’ve got to make sure you don't fuck this up.

That was the main thought going through James Conroy’s head. Sure, he cared about catching the criminals and helping people, but at the moment, he kind of wanted to get out of Joel Irskens’ dog house.

The large, burly man had placed the blame for Juliet going missing on Conroy. While James wasn’t exactly sure how that had happened, he could understand the protectiveness of a father. That wasn’t something he could hold against Irskens. On the plus side, it had kind of opened the door for him to the MCU. Santieri had understood that it clearly wasn’t his fault, and if Conroy had to deal with grunt work in order to get back in Irskens’ good graces, he would do it. He’d wanted to be a Gotham City police officer his entire life, and his father had been in the Major Crimes Unit under Jim Gordon.

James was sitting in his car, his fingers drumming against the steering wheel. Rain pelted the windshield, but he didn’t have the wipers up. He was parked, in a parking lot with other cars, outside of a restaurant. But he had no plan on going inside.

No, he was looking up at the apartment building behind the restaurant.

This is where Slaughterhouse met.

It had taken him some time, but he’d figured out their routine. They had the tendency to be a little brutal in their methods, but they also had a level of self-confidence that was often the downfall of many criminals. Simply put, they thought they were untouchable. The routine was very much so a routine, and he’d realized that they used this apartment building as a meeting place for two weeks every month. They would soon be moving to a different place. But for now, they were here, and he was content to sit and watch them. The coffee in the in the blue and white styrafoam cup had long gone cold, and it was times like these he almost wished he smoked.

Something to do, something to cut through the boredom of watching through the windows.

This was where Irskens and Santieri wanted him. He wasn’t going to let them down.